Building bridges between Chinese investors and San Francisco’s luxury real estate market

“I definitely feel I met the right people at the right time. The timing was impeccable. If I had time to do anything differently, I would not be where I am today.”

Growing up, Pei spent his summers in Shanghai, and the iconic HSBC logo was a familiar sight. But it wasn’t just the bank’s strong presence in Hong Kong and Shanghai that drew him in; it was the opportunity to serve an international clientele, leveraging his bilingual skills, that truly resonated with him.

“I could leverage my bilingual capabilities, and, ultimately, I would have access to an international clientele base that a traditional American bank would not know about,” Pei said. “I can read and write Chinese, and that’s a huge advantage for me in the Bay Area because there’s a very large Chinese population. I think that’s sort of what sets me apart from many of my peers, and that’s what has helped me get ahead in my career.”

With HSBC’s boutique private bank setup, Pei leads a dedicated team focusing on affluent, high-net-worth international clients.

“So that’s sort of my focus as of the past three years,” he said. “What we’re aiming for at HSBC is a niche boutique private bank setup. You can think of your Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan, but much more nimble and much more condensed in size as well. Essentially, you can think of my role as a producing sales manager. I’m overseeing the whole process from start to finish as the quarterback of the whole transaction. I’m also responsible for branding HSBC in the Northern California area so people are aware of what we do and what sort of financial services we can offer.”